To Mothers and Good Literature

It’s a little late, but Happy Mother’s Day.  Maybe not that late, my sister still has people saying it to her.

Anyway, as usual I made a little something for my own mom this year.  And as usual I didn’t have the guts to give it to her directly.  So she received this discreet little pouch as delivered by my niece.

Inside were a couple of my lovely button broaches (see Button Broach: A Tutorial) and a pretty handkerchief.  I made the handkerchief in a slightly different way than usual.  It’s hard to describe, but I think I will definitely be making more like this in the future.

Next, I found myself in need of a case to hold pens and pencils and such, one that would essentially be squish-proof.  The solution?  A hardcover book.

I took an old hardcover book I had lying around and carefully removed the innards.  Don’t worry, the pages are still completely intact.  I stuck them in the dust jacket to read later since the story sounds interesting.  It’s kind of like turning a hardcover book into a paperback.

All I had to do was make the pockets and lining then glue them inside the cover.  Then I made the strap to keep it closed.  It closes with Velcro, I tried to use snaps but it didn’t turn out right.  Of course I glued on a large button just for show.  It was a lot of fun to make.  I thought about making another one, a larger one this time.  The problem is I can’t find a book with a large sized cover that I can remove without causing too much harm to it.  I’m not one of those people that can completely destroy an interesting book in the name of crafting.  Sigh.
Here’s the updated list:

• Gift
• Pencil case
• T-shirt recon
• Pink dress
• Shorts
• Patterns
• Shoes
• Striped skirt
• Mazes

Two down, seven to go.  The next one should be up by Saturday.

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Pouches and a Cat Inspection

First up, last December I made some cute tissue pouches (see Pretty Pins and Pouches).  Now those I made for gifts, not for me.  But now I need some too. 

So I made these ones. They look a lot like the other pouches until you open them.  These ones have a flap to make it easier to put tissues or handkerchiefs in them.  It also makes handy for other things or it would if I could think of another use for them.

I did say there would be two projects today, and the second is this cat bed.  The design is based on one I saw in a store years ago.  It’s basically a soft mat with some sides, I guess sort of like a plush tray.  The only difference it this one isn’t made from foam or tacky looking like the one I saw in the store.  There’s one problem.  When I showed to my cat, Midnight she walked away…

…Then he showed up.  Angel had to give his two cents.

Looks good to him.

But I made it for Midnight.

Don’t go Angel, you can have it.

Here’s the updated list:

• fabric car
• hankie holder
• birdies
• cat bed
• tiny mittens
• tiny stockings
• doll makeover
• blue dress
• knitted bag
• jacket

Five down, five to go.  Yay, half way through!

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Birthday Again

Well another year has gone by, tomorrow is my birthday.  That yearly event always brings with it a yearly problem.  What do I give my twin sister for our birthday?

This year it’s handkerchiefs.  I do enjoy making them and it’s one of the few things that I can make that she actually likes.  Despite being twins we have very little in common.  Anyway, these are just plain square handkerchiefs made from a small print cotton fabric.  They are intended to actually be used which is why it probably isn’t a problem that I used a one way print.  I not sure but it kind of looks funny to have the flowers on a printed handkerchief facing up.  Hope my sister doesn’t think so too.
Here’s the updated list:

• Bags
• Bracelets
• Barrettes
• Doll pajamas
• Doll makeover
• Wristbands
• Red skirt
• Ears
• Costume
• Handkerchiefs

Ten down and out.  And just in time for the holidays. 

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Just Handkerchiefs

I wanted to post this yesterday but I had technical difficulties, again.

Anyway, I love handkerchiefs.  I think they are so cute and useful, such a handy thing to have around.  Plus, they are so so easy to make.  However, it has been such a long time since the last time I bothered to make some for myself or anyone else.  So I thought I would whip up a few.  I have been needing to since I can’t find any of my old ones.  These are small ones, 8 x 8 inches using scraps of white cotton and simple lace to trim them.  That’s one of the things I love about handkerchiefs, it doesn’t take too much fussing to make them look pretty.  I made nine of them, three for me and the rest for other purposes.  I just need to figure out what those “other purposes” will be.  Gifts, giveaways, or sell them.  Any ideas?

Here’s the updated list:

• Slippers
• Handkerchiefs
• Cases
• Pens
• Binder
• T-shirt
• Skirt
• Bag
• Background

Two down, seven to go.  The next one should be finished tomorrow.

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Crafty All-nighter

I got on a roll the other night and finished up my list.  Nothing like staying up late crafting, especially when you’re suppose to be studying.

For the snowflake angels, I made paper snowflakes and cut them in half.  One half was made into a cone for the dress, and the other for the wings.  The head is a scrap of fabric with some fiberfill, it’s made the same way as those tissue ghost things you make in elementary school.  The halos are sparkly plastic tubes I had left over from some bracelets.  I was inspired to make these from some doilies in a cake box.  Another reason to eat cake.

 

I made the bottle cozy out of leftover fuzzy felt.  I made it to look like a furry collared jacket.  I thought about adding sleeves, but it seemed too odd.  It is a very simple design and goes on with Velcro.  Now my water bottle is well insulated, I wish I could say the same for myself.  It’s been unusually cold here lately.

 

 

For the handkerchiefs, I decided to try out my new used pinking shears.  I used some more of this pretty cotton, and added some stitching so they wouldn’t end up looking like napkins instead of handkerchiefs.

 

The wings were really fun to do.  I used scraps from an old dress and hangers for most of it.  The hangers were kind of hard to shape, but hopefully they look like wings at least.  The best part was decorating them, I used tons of glitter.  My niece is modeling them here.  She just loves them, so does her little brother.  I guess it’s not that odd for a 2 year old boy to want to wear sparkly fairy wings.  They do look cute on him.

Here’s the headband I made, again modeled by my niece.  I used faceted beads and wire from a spiral notebook.  Now you know what to do with those old school notebooks.  Make accessories!  I’m not very experienced with working with wire so my hands starting to cramp up.  I manage to finish it, but I won’t exactly be working with wire anytime soon.  At least not this week.

My last project is the pouch. Fairly simple, I used an envelope as a pattern, hence the resemblance.  This is the first time I have ever used snaps that aren’t sewn on.  It was easier than I thought it would be.  You learn something new everyday.

 

 

Here’s the best part.  Since it looks like an envelope, it should have a stamp, right?  I wonder if I could mail it for real, with a real stamp I mean.  I’ve heard of fabric postcards being mailed, why not envelopes?  I guess it would depend on what’s being mailed and the type of fabric.

So here’s the finished list:

• bottle cozy
• half apron
• hankies
• snowflake angels
• bias tape accessories
• mini baskets
• pouches
• bead headbands
• Wings
• scarf
• id tag holder

All done!  Yay!  Of course now I have to start working on the rest of the
Christmas stuff.  Maybe another list is in order.

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